Feature

Singapore: The Safest Route to Asia's Riches

Singapore offers one of the most appealing ways to play the rise of Asia.

AS A RULE, SMALL TROPICAL ISLANDS HAVE AN OBLIGATION to the rest of the world to preserve themselves as sun-filled, rum-soaked, licentious getaways. But Singapore doesn't do laid-back very well. Nearly 4,200 flights take off and land each week at its bustling airport, and its port is the world's busiest. At 4.41 million, the number of mobile-phone users exceeds its adult population, and sometimes they all seem to be talking at once. Even Singapore's national pastimes -- eating and shopping -- are pursued with a ferocity that...